Pedro will make his Mets return at San Francisco  —  Pedro Martinez will make his next start for the Mets in San Francisco next week, a team official confirmed last night.  —  Martinez was believed to be en route to New York yesterday from Port St. Lucie, Fla. Because he's Pedro, though …

Drop-off in home runs not as deep as it may seem  —  Barry Bonds is home in Beverly Hills, Calif. Mike Piazza is retired.  And Sammy Sosa is waiting for a job.  —  While the names have changed, the number of home runs being hit is virtually the same as a year ago, varying little from Mark McGwire's record-setting season in 1998.

Middle relievers give Giants room to deal  —  Young arms give chance to deal  —  PHOENIX - The trade market might be materializing a little earlier than normal this year and the Giants are actively shopping several players, according to sources.  —  But not the names you'd expect.

Rockies collapse in clutch  —  Colorado blows 4-3 lead in 8-4 setback to plummet 14 games under .500  —  CHICAGO — To reach the dugout Thursday from their cramped, odorous clubhouse, the Rockies descended 20 concrete steps, made a right at the frazzled miniature-golf carpet …

No, I'm not Chuck Todd  —  There are certain pleasures in writing anonymously.  Particularly in the political world, where there is a whole mythology associated with anonymity — think Deep Throat or Primary Colors or Atrios.  But I'm fortunate enough to have been granted the opportunity …

Thunder RF Tabata disciplined again  —  TRENTON - Thunder right fielder Jose Tabata was yanked from tonight's game against visiting New Hampshire in the fifth inning for unspecified disciplinary reasons.  —  Suspended three games by the Yankees for leaving Waterfront Park following …

Johnson ties Clemens at No. 2 on Ks list  —  PHOENIX (AP)—Randy Johnson looked phenomenally strong for a 44-year-old pitcher.  That wasn't enough, though, for the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks against resurgent San Francisco.  —  Arizona's bullpen blew a late lead and Randy Winn's ninth …

FULL-TIME JOBA  —  CHAMBERLAIN SET TO JOIN YANKS' ROTATION  —  In a conversation with Brian Cashman yesterday, Hank Steinbrenner forgot to ask his GM when Joba Chamberlain will debut in the Yankees' rotation.  —  However, don't take that as indifference when it comes to converting baseball's premier set …

The Dayton Game  —  OK, so Royals general manager Dayton Moore showed me this fun little game you can play with your team.  It begins with a scouting question: How many 60 tools does your team have?  —  I probably don't need to explain that concept to the brilliant readership of this blog* but, I will.

MLB top ump: ‘Replay is coming’ to ballparks  —  The top ump in the majors said that instant replay is on its way but cautioned that pro baseball needs the highest standard in sports for using the technology.  —  Umpire supervisor Rich Rieker addressed the issue during a live chat with chron.com on Thursday.

Advice for Mariners: Take a strong dose of youth  —  Two weeks ago, I wrote a column calling for the Mariners to take a hard look at themselves and decide if this season was still salvageable.  —  Since I wrote that, they've gone 4-8, and fallen from eight to 11 ½ games out of first place.

Harang appears affected by relief outing  —  Reds bats come up with two hits off former teammate in loss  —  CINCINNATI — The costly 18-inning game last weekend didn't just give the Reds one isolated loss on one isolated day.  The carryover from that six-hour day became visible on Thursday …

Guzman not focusing on free agency  —  Talks on hold til end of season; shortstop hopes to stay  —  SAN DIEGO — Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman is having the best year of his career thus far.  Entering Friday's action against the Diamondbacks, Guzman is hitting .304 with five home runs and 20 RBIs …